Bloomington man to get Bronze Star for actions in Vietnam

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, July 10, 2006

A postal worker wounded in Vietnam and thought dead by his comrades is scheduled to receive a Bronze Star this week.

Michael "Mick" Mitchell, 58, suffered a head wound when he was hit by shrapnel during an enemy attack in 1968, and his memory of the battle remains fuzzy.

After he was wounded, a fellow soldier set him up against a tree and "told me to keep shooting," Mitchell told The Herald-Times for a Tuesday story.

Armed with an M-16 rifle, Mitchell successfully held off the enemy and allowed all of the injured to be evacuated, said Leo Lipsie, a Houston resident who was a member of Mitchell's outfit.

Mitchell returned to Bloomington after recovering from his injuries and took a job with the U.S. Postal Service that he has held for 30 years. He lost contact with his buddies until a few years ago.

"We all thought that Mick was dead," said Lipsie, who was a member of Mitchell's reconnaissance platoon.

Lipsie said he and others submitted Mitchell's name to the military so he could receive the Bronze Star medal, expected to be awarded during a ceremony at a reunion of 1st Cavalry Division veterans in Louisville, Ky., Wednesday.

"It's something he deserved," Lipsie said.

He, Mitchell and a third member of the platoon now speak daily, Lipsie said.

"We talk about the good times," Mitchell said. "We don't dwell on the bad times."